Rockville Centre candidates' forum sparks debate

The sole candidates’ forum before Tuesday’s village election took place at the Sandel Senior Center on June 8. It was moderated by former Village Justice Frank Yannelli, lasted approximately 90 minutes and featured back-and-forth debate on a number of issues affecting Rockville Centre.

Two of the three candidates for mayor and four trustee hopefuls took part. (Michael Leboff, an independent candidate for mayor, did not attend.) Incumbent Mayor Mary Bossart of the Rockville Centre Concerned Citizens Party and mayoral candidate Francis Murray of the Rockville Centre United Party kicked things off with a series of three two-minute exchanges in which Yannelli asked them about Tuesday’s Fire Department bond referendum, a looming 2 percent property tax cap and complaints of excessive ticketing in the downtown business district.

Both Bossart and Murray said they would not vote for the $21 million capital project that would rehabilitate two firehouses, at 58 N. Centre Ave. and 103 Maple Ave. Citing a bad economy, Bossart said, “This is a very large expenditure in a very difficult period of time. The firehouses need work, but we can’t fix them instantly.”

She added that the board of trustees — three Concerned Citizens and one independent — thought it was in their best interests to have residents vote on the bond proposal. The trustees voted unanimously to place the bond on Tuesday’s ballot, at a public meeting in April.

Murray, however, questioned Bossart’s decision to allow the vote. “You’re putting a disconnect between the Fire Department and the other tax-paying residents by allowing this,” he said. Murray, a 40-year member of the department, said that the project has too high a cost. “Our party has a different plan to rebuild the firehouses,” he said, “and we can bring the number down from $21 million.”

When Yannelli turned to the potential 2 percent property tax cap, Murray listed potential ideas that his administration would consider to help save the village money: merging the Department of Public Works and the Water Department, implementing a paperless system to pay bills and introducing smart-grid technology.